Carlo Ancelotti, left, the Chelsea manager, said Paolo Maldini would not be joining the coaching staff. Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Action Images

Senior staff at Chelsea have started Italian lessons to help Carlo Ancelotti settle in as smoothly as possible. The former Milan manager, who officially starts work at Stamford Bridge tomorrow, has conceded he will have to work on his English in the months to come.

Ancelotti, who is not expected in London until the weekend, is likely to live in Oxshott, near the club's Cobham training complex. He has been undertaking English lessons for some time but he has recently undertaken an intensive course . The 50-year-old has never worked outside Italy and while he gave a relatively impressive interview in English to Chelsea's television channel upon his appointment last month, he will welcome the assistance of the likes of his assistant Ray Wilkins, a former Milan player, in the weeks ahead.

"There is a bet going with [Didier] Drogba about whether I would learn English faster than he would learn the Milanese dialect, and my money is on Drogba to win," said Ancelotti, who has conceded that Paolo Maldini will not be joining his coaching staff. "Three Chelsea directors have also been learning Italian, maybe out of desperation. There was one time when I was with David Beckham at Milan. He was on the massage table and I said, 'He who sleeps fails to catch the fish', and everyone started laughing."

Chelsea will be keen to avoid a repeat of Luiz Felipe Scolari's problems. The Brazilian manager had been taking English lessons only for a busy fixture list to interrupt the classes once the season began. Problems in communication became a source of frustration thereafter.

Wilkins, the club's No2, is confident the new manager will be able to communicate effectively. "I've spoken to him on two occasions since he was appointed," he said. "He's been on an extensive English course but he already speaks good English and it'll be even better when he comes back. With my broken Italian, we can get by. Grammatically, my Italian is appalling but I can get by. The important thing is he understands what's happening. He wants it to be an 'English' dressing room."

Chelsea will welcome the Russian Yuri Zhirkov to the club tomorrow as their first summer signing. The Middlesbrough goalkeeper Ross Turnbull and the Manchester City striker Daniel Sturridge are set to follow. The London club may consider allowing their record signing, Andriy Shevchenko, to return to Dynamo Kiev for a knockdown fee. "We are interested in Shevchenko," said the Dynamo president, Igor Surkis. "An offer has been made. We are waiting for a response."